Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Despite not having the requisite staff to provide adequate supervision, like the thousands of students who utilise them, the Ministry of Education sees the proliferation of private schools in St. James as a good thing and welcomes them.

"By and large, they are having a positive impact because they are providing a service that we could hardly do without (and) they are adding capacity to the system," said Vincent Guthrie, the director at the Ministry of Education Region IV, in Montego Bay. "Most of them are doing extremely well," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Registered private schools

With 63 registered private schools, spanning the gamut from pre-primary to tertiary, this sector could well be the fastest growing in St. James. The institutions offer tutorial ranging from GSAT through to GCE/CXC plus more diversified areas such as practical nursing, computer studies, cosmetology and business,

In addition to the registered schools, which meet the major pre-requisites for registration by the Ministry of Education - suitable accommodation, an approved curriculum and fully qualified staff - there are also a few unregistered schools, which are referred to as 'fly by night set-up' by Ms. Jeannette Solomon, a vice-principal at St. James High School.

"These 'fly by night set-ups' are not interested in doing the right thing, so they don't see to get registered, they are all about making quick money," said Ms. Solomon. "Once they have the students' money they usually disappear. With them its usually a case of here today, gone tomorrow."

Understaffed

While the Ministry of Education is committed to doing its best to ensure that all private schools fall in line in terms of registration and meeting the government approve standards, Mr. Guthrie said the understaffed Region IV is hard-pressed to meet its regulatory functions. "We are under staffed for supervision, but we are nonetheless implementing creative strategies to get the job done," said the Education Ministry official. "For example, we have developed what we call an independent school day, where all our officers go to visit these schools."

However, while applauding the ministry's creativity, Ms. Solomon believes because of the strategic importance of the private institutions, instead of overstretching its officers to do the supervision of the private schools, the ministry would be better served by recruiting retired teachers to carry out that role.

"The need for proper supervision at the junior and tertiary levels is particularly critical because one is at the point of entry in the system and the other is at the point of exit," said Ms. Solomon. "Every educator knows the importance of laying a proper foundation for the young ones and also the importance of sending properly prepared people into the world of work."

Investigations by The Sunday Gleaner has reveal that most of the registered schools, unlike the so-called 'fly-by-night' set-up, on account of the vigilance of the Ministry of Education and the need to attract students, have been properly accredited by the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ).

"The Ministry of Education has nothing to do with accreditation, but once an institution meets our standard for registration, they would basically be in good stead for accreditation," reported Mr. Guthrie. "For their own good, it would serve these institutions well to become properly accredited.

For Hampden Primary School teacher Dawn Gordon, who recently completed a degree in guidance at the International University of the Caribbean (IUC), in Montego Bay, the chance to stay in her home parish and study was one of the factors that motivated her to go after her degree.

"If I was to go into Kingston to study, it would probably have meant giving up my job, and dislocation in my family," said Ms. Gordon, who gave high marks to IUC for the challenging courses and the competence of the lecturers. "I am now finished and it did not cause any job or family dislocation except for the extra hours of studies."